One reason I bought a 360 action camera was the idea of “shoot once, frame later.” I want to make a normal 16:9 YouTube edit and then a vertical 9:16 short from the same ride.
Is it better to finish the 16:9 video and crop that to vertical, or go back to the 360 masters and create a separate vertical reframe?
360 video workflows
Go back to the 360 master. Cropping the finished 16:9 export throws away most of the reason you shot 360 in the first place.
For vertical, you may want a completely different virtual camera direction. The subject that sits on the left third in a wide landscape shot may need to be centered and tracked in 9:16.
Creator workflows
I usually make one content edit first: decide which moments are in the story. Then I create two framing passes from the surviving 360 shots.
That way the timing/story can stay mostly consistent while the virtual camera work is optimized for each aspect ratio.
Editing workflows
That is the cleanest workflow. Keep the spherical masters, create/refine the virtual camera moves for each deliverable, and only then finish titles/graphics in the target project size.
GoPro Player is useful for MAX reframing; VSDC can then handle the regular edit and also provides 360 tools for supported footage. For 16:9 and 9:16 I would create separate projects or scenes rather than forcing one set of text positions and crops to serve both.
Action Video Lab Editorial Team
Separate framing also helps with pacing. My vertical version usually needs faster cuts and a tighter subject, while the YouTube version can hold the wide environment longer.
The source clips are the same, but the final edits are not just different crops.
Travel & action cameras
Understood. I will treat the 360 footage as the master negative, not the 16:9 export. That should also make future square/vertical versions much easier.
360 video workflows